Our people.

Nic is the founder and CEO of Forward Partners. He has worked in venture capital in London and Silicon Valley for over 20 years. Prior to founding Forward in 2013, he was a founding Partner at leading venture capital firm Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Espirit), which went on to admit to AIM in 2016. Before entering the venture capital industry, Nic worked as a strategy consultant for Gemini Consulting and at London-based startup Operis Group plc.

Nic has led on over 100 investments and has overseen several successful exits, including, most recently, Wonderbly and Heights from the Forward portfolio. In 2021, Forward listed on the London Stock Exchange, raising £36.6m. He currently sits on the board of multiple fast-growth startups including; Robin, Makers and Koru Kids.

Outside of Forward he’s a proud husband and father of two teenage kids and a long-time season ticket holder at Chelsea Football Club. He’s developed a keen interest in mindfulness and philosophy that’s proved to be a great asset at home, at work and as a supporter of the aforementioned club.

Lloyd joined Forward from the ATI Group, a provider of legal technology, software and information services, where he held the position of Chief Financial Officer at several of its UK and Ireland businesses. Prior to joining ATI, he spent five years in audit at EY and four years in PwC’s deals team, working with a mix of private equity firms, AIM-listed businesses, banks and other private companies.

Luke joined Forward Partners from REV Venture Partners, a corporate VC, where he was responsible for deal origination, investment due diligence and portfolio reporting. He was previously a consultant with the strategy consultancy Oliver Wyman, where he worked across the retail, aviation, healthcare and FMCG sectors. Luke originally planned a career in science and he holds a PhD in biochemistry. His focus at Forward Partners is on sourcing and executing new investments.

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Chris is a successful entrepreneur and startup executive with a track record of helping companies succeed. In 2019, he co-founded Front of the Pack (FOTP), a pet wellness startup that raised a Series A at $50 million from leading institutional investors and angels. Under Chris's leadership, FOTP became one of the top pet wellness companies in the world.

Before FOTP, Chris worked as the Director of People at Paws Group, Europe's largest pet supply ecommerce business. He has also helped build and align leadership teams for some of the most exciting startups around the world, many of which have gone on to list on the NASDAQ or FTSE or become unicorns.

Chris's work in people and culture has been featured in The Times, and his playbook is used by over 40 scale-ups, including four of the top 10 in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100. In addition to his professional pursuits, Chris co-founded and runs NOMFUP, a social mobility organization that is soon to become a charity.

Ben joined Forward from an independent European investment firm where he was Director of Finance. Previously he trained as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in London working with private and publicly listed clients primarily in the Technology sector.

Ben is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)

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John has had a career in finance for nearly thirty years, holding a variety of positions from management accounting through to financial and data analysis. Latterly, John has held senior analytical roles in the Aeronautical and Real Estate sectors, concentrating on streamlining of financial reporting and processes, as well as managing data manipulation and migrations.

A proud father of 3 girls, John loves nothing more than getting out on his bike and hitting the trails (as well as a few country pubs en route!).

Mo works as a Culture Manager and EA to Nic Brisbourne. Mo is passionate about creating a fun and inclusive working culture, creating events and supporting the team at Forward. She joins us from the brands Ecover and Method, and has previously worked in the arts and events industry. At Ecover and Method, she supported the leadership team, managed the office and created events.

Shei started her career in EY Philippines, and then moved to the EY office in London, following a 6-month secondment in EY Singapore. After a combined period of 11 years working as an external auditor for EY, Shei now joins Forward. She works primarily on financial statements and internal controls audits of hedge fund and private equity funds and managers, and AIM-listed brokers. 

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